Health

Each year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awards a single organzation one million dollars for its contributions to global health.  A list of this year's nominees can be found here.  Five of these nominees are organizations active in Haiti.  I am familiar with, and very much respect the work of, FOSREF, GHESKIO, and Partners in Health.  If you know of the other two organizations listed, please feel free to provide information in the comments section below.  Once the awardee has been selected, we will post it as well.  

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is very active in Haiti, particularly in the sectors of  water/sanitation and nutrition.   UNICEF recently released their annual Humanitarian Action Report.  It is intended for donors, but if you are interested in knowing what UNICEF did in Haiti during 2008 and seeks to accomplish in 2009, this is a good place to start.  The Haiti section is copied below.

Below is a blog concerning Smile Train, an organization that works with health care providers throughout the developing world to repair cleft lips and palates.  Smile Train will send a Surgical Volunteers International Team to Port au Prince from February 27- March 7.  While there, the team will both perform surgeries and teach local surgeons to do the same. This approach is cost-effective and builds local capacity. If you or a colleagues knows of a Haitian child with a cleft, please contact Smile Train and Surgical Volunteers International prior to the trip.

Meds and Foods for Kids (MFK) was featured on a CNN Special Report today. The article described the ongoing struggle of Haitian mothers as they're forced to choose between life or death for their children. The short clip highlights MFK's effort to treat malnutrtion with Medika Mamba (or peanut butter medicine).  Medika Mamba is a ready-to-use therapeutic food made of peanuts purchased from local Haitian farmers. In the CNN article, MFK Executive Director commented, "You realize how absolutely blessed you are by the fate of your soul coming down the chute in the United States of America. You wonder: Why did this happen to me and not to them?"You can access the CNN report by clicking here. The article can also be found below.

Scott Schachter sent in the following blog about Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - an independent, international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid in more than 60 countries including Haiti, where it has operated since 1991. Doctors Without Borders is actively involved in recovery operations in Gonaives.  The organization is competing for one million dollars in the Trip Advisor Challenge.  You can cast your vote by clicking here.  Read on or visit the Doctors Without Borders Website to learn more.

Project Medishare has been operating on Haiti's Central Plateau since 1995.  Working with community groups, the Haitian Ministry of Health, Partners in Health, and the Green Family Foundation, Project Medishare has dramatically improved the health infrastructure of Thomonde and sorrounding areas.  Construction is proceeding on their latest and most innovative project - a Nutrition Training Complex with three components: (1) An AK-1000 processing facility; (2) A treatment center for malnourished children; and (3) An education and training center.  This community-driven approach will promote children's health and bolster the local ecomomy at the same time.

After four months of debate, the Haitian Senate finally ratified a Prime Minister. Michèle Pierre-Louis becomes only the second female in Haitian history to hold the post.  This delay has had a high cost in the form of delayed infrastructure projects, delayed trade deals, and underminded confidence as to whether the country is ready to open a new chapter on governance.  The Miami Herald notes under Haiti's constitution, Pierre-Louis must next present a governance plan and cabinet selections to parliament.  We hope food security features prominently in the proposed plan - her tenure will largely be evaluated on whether she can accomplish the delicate balancing act of putting in place short term measures while working on long term solutions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released an interesting and easy to understand guide on the relationship between investments in water/sanitation/hygiene (WASH) and public health.  The international community, and Haiti Innovation included, have been paying a lot of attention to food security.  However, children with diarrhoea from poor water are not able to absorb nutrients, are more likely to become malnourished, and subsequently come down with a life threatening disease. Worldwide 1.4 million children a year die (6,000 a day) die from diarrhoea.  In Haiti, 10% of all deaths are estimated to be water-related.   Access to water, sanitation and hygiene, together are key to promoting public health in Haiti and elsewhere.  

Malnutrition is a major problem throughout the developing world including Haiti.  It saps the immune system, making it easier to get sick with and die from an infectious disease.  It slows cognitive development reducing the contributions a person can make to his or her country.  After years of business as usual, there have been several very promising developments such as the Ready to Use Therapeutic Food called Plumpynut.   There is another important intervention called Sprinkles - a easy to use nutritional supplement that has proven effective in Haiti and elsewhere.

Copied below is a good article in Reason Online concerning the results of the 2008 Copenhagen Conference.  The purpose of the conference was to bring together the world's leading economists to  concentrate the attention of policymakers, charitable foundations, and members of the public on the relative urgency and costs of the world's big problems.  You might be surprised by the number one solution - suppplying Vitamin A and zinc children who lack them in the developing world.  The price tag is $60 million a year but the cost is dwarfed it by the benefits - stronger immune systems, less sickness and death, and improved cognitive development.  Read their proposed solutions and then vote whether you agree or disagree with their findings.